Jendhamuni - Buddhism and inspiring quotes

The Need for Tolerance Today

Comment April 8, 2015

Jendhamuni on snow day April 8, 2015.

Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera

‘If a person foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my boundless love. The more evil that comes from him the more good will go from me. I will always give off only the fragrance of goodness.’ (Buddha).

People today are restless, weary filled with fear and discontentment. They are intoxicated with the desire to gain fame, wealth and power. They crave for gratification of the senses. People are passing their days in fear, suspicion and insecurity. In this time of turmoil and crisis, it becomes difficult for people to coexist peacefully with their fellowmen. There is therefore, a great need for tolerance in the world today so that peaceful co-existence among the people of the world can be possible.

The world has bled and suffered from the disease of dogmatism and of intolerance. The land of many countries today are soaked with the blood spilled on the altar of various political struggles, as the skies of earlier millennia were covered with the smoke of burning martyrs of various faiths. Whether in religion or politics people have been conscious of a mission to bring humanity to their way of life and have been aggressive towards other ways of life. Indeed, the intolerance of the crusading spirit has spoiled the records of religions.

Let us look back on this present century of highly publicized ‘Progress’ — a century of gadgets and inventions. The array of new scientific and technical inventions is dazzling – telephones, electric motors, airplanes, radios, television, computers, space ships, satellites and electronic devices etc. Yet in this same century the children of the earth who have developed all these inventions as the ultimate in progress, are the same people who have butchered millions of others by bayonets or bullets or gas. Amidst all the great ‘progress’, where does the spirit of tolerance stand?

Today man is interested in exploring outer space. But he is totally unable to live as man-to-man in peace and harmony. Man will eventually desecrate the moon and other planets.

For the sake of material gain, modern man violates nature. His mental activities are so preoccupied with his pleasure that he is unable to discover the purpose of life. This unnatural behavior of present mankind is the result of his wrong conception of human life and its ultimate aim. It is the cause of the frustration, fear, insecurity and intolerance of our present time.

In fact, today intolerance is still practised in the name of religion. People merely talk of religion and promise to provide short cuts to paradise, they are not interested in practising it. If Christianity live by the Sermon on the Mount, if Buddhists follow the Noble Eightfold path, if Muslims really follow the concept of Brotherhood and if the Hindus shape their life in oneness, definitely there will be peace and harmony in this world. Inspite of these invaluable Teachings of the great religious teachers, people have still not realized the value of tolerance. The intolerance that is practised in the name of religion is most disgraceful and deplorable.

The Buddha’s advice is ‘Let us live happily, not hating those who hate us. Among those who hate us, let us live free from hatred. Let us live happily and free from ailment. Let us live happily and be free from greed; among those who are greedy.’ — (Dhammapada 197-200)
Fortune telling, magic charms, etc.

Comment April 8, 2015

Alien Orchid. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Question: What did the Buddha teach about magic and fortune telling?

Answer: The Buddha considered such practices as fortune telling, wearing magic charms for protection, fixing lucky sites for building, prophesizing and fixing lucky days to be useless superstitions and he expressly forbids his disciples to practice such things. He calls all these things ‘low arts.’

“Whereas some religious men, while living of food provided by the faithful make their living by such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood as palmistry, divining by signs, interpreting dreams… bringing good or bad luck… invoking the goodness of luck… picking the lucky site for a building, the monk Gotama refrains from such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood.” D.I, 9-12

Question: Then why do people sometimes practice such things and believe in them?

Answer: Because of greed, fear and ignorance. As soon as people understand the Buddha’s teachings, they realize that a pure heart can protect them much better than bits of paper, bits of metal and a few chanted words and they no longer rely on such things. In the teachings of the Buddha, it is honesty, kindness, understanding, patience, forgiveness, generosity, loyalty and other good qualities that truly protect you and give you true prosperity.

Question: But some lucky charms do work, don’t they?

Answer: I know a person who makes a living selling lucky charms. He claims that his charms can give good luck, prosperity and he guarantees that you will be able to pick three numbers. But if what he says is true then why isn’t he himself a multi-millionaire? If his lucky charms really work, then why doesn’t he win the lottery week after week? The only luck he has is that there are people silly enough to buy his magic charms.

Question: Then is there such a thing as luck?

Answer: The dictionary defines luck as ‘believing that whatever happens, either good or bad, to a person in the course of events is due to chance, fate or fortune.’ The Buddha denied this belief completely. Everything that happens has a specific cause or causes and there must be some relationships between the cause and the effect. Becoming sick, for example, has specific causes. One must come into contact with germs and one’s body must be weak enough for the germs to establish themselves. There is a definite relationship between the cause (germs and a weakened body) and the effect (sickness) because we know that germs attack the organisms and give rise to sickness. But no relationship can be found wearing a piece of paper with words written on it and being rich or passing examinations. Buddhism teaches that whatever happens does so because of a cause or causes and not due to luck, chance or fate. People who are interested in luck are always trying to get something – usually more money and wealth. The Buddha teaches us that it is far more important to develop our hearts and minds. He says:

Being deeply learned and skilled. Being well-trained and using well-spoken words; this is the best good luck. To support mother and father, to cherish wife and child and to have a simple livelihood; this is the best good luck. Being generous, just, helping one’s relatives and being blameless in one’s actions; this is the best good luck. To refrain from evil and from strong drink, and to be always steadfast in virtue; this is the best good luck. Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude and hearing the good Dhamma; this is the best good luck. Sn. 261-265

~by Ven. Dr. S. Dhammika
Source: www.buddhanet.net
The Buddhist Attitude to Animal Life

Comment April 8, 2015

Banff Black Wolf Family with Mom in front, Dad to the left and 3 cubs. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt

Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera

If we believe that animals were created by someone for men, it would follow that men were also created for animals since some animals do eat human flesh.

Animals are said to be conscious only of the present. They live with no concern for the past or future. Likewise, little children seem to have no notion of the future. They also live in the present until their faculties of memory and imagination are developed.

Men possesses the faculty of reasoning. The gap between man and animal widens only to the extent that man develops his reasoning faculty and acts accordingly. Buddhists accept that animals not only possesses instinctive power but also, to a lesser degree, thinking power.

In some respects, animals are superior to men. Dogs have a keener sense of hearing; insects have a keener sense of smell; hawks are speedier; eagles can see a greater distance. Undoubtedly, men are wiser; but men have so much to learn from the ants and bees. Much of the animal is still in us. But we also have much more: we have the potential of spiritual development.

Buddhism cannot accept that animals were created by someone for men; if animals were created for men then it could follow that men were also created for animals since there are some animals which eat human flesh.

Buddhists are encouraged to love all living beings and not to restrict their love only to human beings. They should practise loving kindness towards every living being. The Buddha’s advice is that is not right for us to take away the life of any living being since every living being has a right to exist. Animals also have fear and pain as do human beings. It is wrong to take away their lives. We should not misuse our intelligence and strength to destroy animals even though they may sometimes be a nuisance to us. Animals need our sympathy. Destroying them is not the only method to get rid of them. Every living being is contributing something to maintain this world. It is unfair for us to deprive their living rights. Continue reading →
Love Letter to the Earth

2 April 8, 2015

Thich Nhat Hanh

“We too can see that the Earth is a living being and not an inanimate object. She is not inert matter. We often call our planet Mother Earth. Seeing the Earth as our mother helps us to realize her true nature. The Earth is not a person, yet she is indeed a mother who has given birth to millions of different species, including the human species,” writes Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn. The Earth incarnates all of the virtues that we honor: strength, stability, patience, and compassion. She is Mother Earth Bodhisattva who gives us the air we breathe, the water that we drink, the food that we eat.

Giving thanks for all these blessings can be a part of our daily walking:

“With each step, I come home to the Earth.
With each step, I return to my source.
With each step, I take refuge in Mother Earth.”

When we walk, our parents and ancestors accompany us along with our animal, plant, and mineral ancestors. We never walk alone. We walk for our enlarged family and for the entire world.

Thich Nhat Hanh laments that in the name of progress, we have hurt the Earth and caused her to suffer. We must heal ourselves and heal the planet at the same time. To do this, we can do the following practices: mindful breathing, sitting meditation, drinking and eating mindfully, and walking meditation. Nhat Hahn also suggests we write love letters to the earth; he shares ten examples. He ends the book with his cosmic vision of a spirituality we can all practice together.

Book Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Autumn in Rundle Park. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
You have enough FAITH in you to keep you up

Comment April 8, 2015

When someone brings you down ,you don’t go down you stay up.
Because you have enough FAITH in you to keep you up.
~Unknown
Through faith and love…

Comment April 8, 2015

It’s the circle of life, and it moves us all through despair and hope,
through faith and love. Till we find our place on the path unwinding.
~The Lion King
The chance to start again

Comment April 8, 2015

One of God’s greatest gifts is the chance to start again.
No failure, no ending, no heartbreak ever gets the last word.
~Unknown
Chase that tail!

Comment April 8, 2015

Chase that tail! Dogs chase their tails for a variety of reasons: curiosity, exercise, anxiety, predatory instinct or, they might have fleas! If your dog is chasing his tail excessively, talk with your vet. ~PetFinder
Play time for dog and kitty

Comment April 8, 2015

Here’s looking at you. Dogs have three eyelids, an upper lid, a lower lid and the third lid, called a nictitating membrane or “haw,” which helps keep the eye moist and protected. Source: Whole Dog Journal

No night vision goggles needed! Dogs’ eyes contain a special membrane, called the tapetum lucidum, which allows them to see in the dark. Source: Healthy Pet
A great character

Comment April 8, 2015

Strong people don’t put others down, they lift them up. ~Unknown
A great character is not the one who makes every person feel small. But the real greatness is in making every person feel great about their own self. ~Vikas Runwal

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Shantidevas’ Bodhisattva vows

Should anyone wish to ridicule me and make me an object of jest and scorn why should I possibly care if I have dedicated myself to others?

Let them do as they wish with me so long as it does not harm them. May no one who encounters me ever have an insignificant contact.

Regardless whether those whom I meet respond towards me with anger or faith, may the mere fact of our meeting contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.

May the slander, harm and all forms of abuse that anyone should direct towards me act as a cause of their enlightenment.